[U.S.] Dollar Reaches 5-Year High as Oil-Linked Currencies Fall

The dollar strengthened to a five-year high after OPEC kept oil output unchanged on speculation lower crude prices will support the U.S. economy while weighing on the currencies of commodity-producing nations.

The U.S. currency’s gains build on this month’s advance as a brightening economic outlook supports projections the Federal Reserve is moving closer to raising borrowing costs. The Australian dollar declined with Norway’s krone and Canada’s currency after the 12-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries kept its output target at 30 million barrels a day, even after the steepest slump in oil prices since the global recession. The yen fell with Russia’s ruble and Brazil’s real. Read more here.